Electric switch.



G. W. LAWRENCE.

ELECTRICSWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30,1915.

Patented J uno 6, 1916.

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% INL/EN'T'UR GEORGE W. LAWRENCE, OF CRANFORD, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1916.

Application filed July 30, 1915. Serial No. 42,691.

many situations where it can be employed,

but is particularly adapted for switchboards, for illuminating circuits,for the sparking. circuits of automobiles, and for other uses inconnection with internal combustion engines, and can be used with alarmcircuits, and there are many other situations in which it can beadvantageously employed. The switch is designed so as to eliminate thenecessity of a key for unlocking a switch or for placing it in circuit,the invention being designed to provide a series of contact arms whichare connected in seriesthrough conductors placed on disks between saidarms, it being necessary, however, in order to complete the circuit, tohave such disks in certain relative rotative positions. To manipulatethe switch a handle is provided for operating a shaft, which in turnoperates the disks by reason of said disks being rotated by the shaft,the disks having coacting means on their opposed faces for rotating themtogether. I also prefer to provide a scale plate and index to indicatethe combination so that any one knowing the combination can place thedisks in position to either connect or disconnect the contact arms andthus make or break the'circuit.

The invention further provides a device in which the combination can bechanged without much loss of time and without much labor, and one inwhich the disks when they are successively placed in position are heldyieldingly in such position by their electrical contact.

The invention is susceptible to changes, and modified forms of parts canbe used, the drawing illustrating a preferred form of my invention.

One modification illustrated in the drawing is shown in section inFigure 1, the operating part of the disk being illustrated in elevation.Fig. 2 is a face view of the switch shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectionon line 33 in Fig. 1, showing one of the disks broken away at the top.Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the disks illustrated in Figs. 1

and 3, and Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 3

gutkillustrating a modified form of contact I prefer to make the deviceso that it is inclosed in a suitable casing, in the form shown thecasing consisting of a bottom plate 10, a suitable cover 11 and a frontwall 12, but the form of casing is not essential. A base 13 is suitablysecured to the bottom plate 10 as by means of the screws 14. The base 13has projecting bearings 15 which receive the shaft 16, the shaft beingheld against withdrawal by suitable means such as a pin 17. Mounted onthe shaft are disks 18. In the form shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, thesedisks being adapted for use with an open circuit, they are thereforemade of suitable insulating material, such as fiber, hard rubber or anyof the numerous compositions of which such articles are made. One of thedisks, in the drawing it is the one adjacent to the switch bearing, isconnected to the shaft so that it turns therewith, the disk beingsecured, in the form illustrated, by the pin 19. Each of the other disksis preferably arranged so that it is loosely mounted on the shaft and isnot affected by its rotation.

Each of the disks on their opposed faces is provided with projections 20which are arranged at substantially the same distance from the center sothat they abut as the shaft continues to revolve, and when they are allin contact the shaft turns all the disks together. When, however, theshaft is rotated in the reverse direction, the disks, ex-

cept the one fastened to the shaft, are not rotated, and it will beevident with reversals of rotation that the disks can readily be broughtto relative rotative positions, and it'is necessary for the operator toknow the successive directions to the right and left that must be givento bring these disks to their required position.

To manipulate the shaft I provide a handle 21 and a suitable index hand22, and a scale 23 can be employed to indicate to a person knowing thecombination what the positions of the disks are and to control therotation of the shaft to bring the disks to their proper rotativepositions. Other means beside the projections 20 can be used for causingthe rotation of the disks in unison. The disks are provided withprojections or contact points 24, these being usually placed ontheperiphery, and additional openings, 25 may be provided for thechanging of the contact points 24 and are usually screw-threaded, or maybe used for the insertion of additional screws or contacts. I provide.an electrical connection such as a wire 26 which connects separatedcontacts electrically. On the base 13 I I mount contact arms 27, thesebeing preferportions 30 which are adapted to receive the next adjacentarm, as at 33.

separated contact points 24 and yieldingly hold each disk in successivepositions, these contacts, however, giving way at a pressure on thehandle 21 of the shaft.

The circuit wires 31 and 32, which can be connected to any circuit thatthe switch is adapted to control, are fastened to separated contactarms, in Fig. 1 of the drawing these wires being connected to the endcontact arms on the same side of the base 13. The contact arm to whichthe wire 31 is secured not electrically connected to its .adjacent arm,but the contact arm opposite to it on the other side is connected to itsA wire 34 forms an electrical connection between the two adjacent armson the near side of the structure shown in Fig. 1, and the wire 35 formsan electrical connection between the contact arms on the other side sothat the pairs of arms are alternately connected on opposite sides ofthe device so that. when the disks are brought to a position where alltheir wires 26 are in a position to connect the opposed contact arms 27the circuit through the switch is complete. It will bereadily seen thatif any of the disks are in a position where. the contacts 24 connectedby the electrical connection 26 are not connecting the contact a'rmsbearing on it,

It will be evident from this description that any one knowing thecombination can manipulate the handle 21 until all the disks have theirprojections 20 in contact with each other and they are all rotating inunison. In the form shown, when the disk farthest away from the handleis in a position to have its electrical connection 26 connect thecontact arms 27 flanking the disk, the handle is reversed until allthree disks are turned in the reverse direction until the second diskfrom the end is in its proper position, the handle is once more turnedin the original direction until the third disk from the end is in itsposition, and then the handle is again reversed until the disk fastenedto the shaft is in its proper position and then the circuit through theswitch is complete and all the contact arms and the electricalconnections on the disks are connected.

In Fig. 5 I show a modification in which the disk 36 is made of materialthat will conduct electricity and which has a block or blocks 37 ofinsulating material, this structure providing an open circuit when thedisks are in their proper positions, at least one of the contact arms 38bearing on the insulating part37. The disks 18 are preferably held apartby suitable coils 39 mounted on them, the disks being freely pivoted onthe shaft and being held in place by an end fixture such as the pin 40.With .this construction it is possible to easily destroy the combinationsufliciently to close the circuit, which circuit can be one thatembraces the hoodof an automobile or any other similar structure, sothat when said hood is opened a proper alarm will be sounded, and thisdevice can be used as an extension of the shaft shown in the structureillustrated in Fig. 1 so that any manipulation of the switch will soundan alarm. The uses, however, to which this device is adapted arevarious, and it will be evident to any one skilled in the art how toapply the above described switch in any circuit where it is desirable ornecessary. The switch is compact, is inexpensive to manufacture and iseasily manipulated.

Having thus. described my invention, I claim:

1. An electric switch comprising a series of rotative disks, means formoving the disks to occupy predetermined relative rotative positions,separated electrically connected contact points movably arran ed on eachdisk, contact arms flanking eac disk and in the path of the contactpoints, circuit wires connected to the end arms, and electricalconnections between adjacent arms whereby all the contact points and thearms can be placed in circuit.

2. An electric switch comprising opposed contact arms insulated fromeach other, circuit wires attached to separated arms, electricalconnections between adjacent arms on alternate opposite sides, disksbetween said contact arms, each disk being rotatable independently ofthe others, means on the opposed faces of said disks to cause them torotate in unison, and movable por tions on said disks for conductingelectricity so as to electrically connect the arms, and means forplacing saiddisks in predetermined relative rotative positions, Where byall the arms and the disks are in circuit.

3. An electric switch comprising a base, insulating strips on the base,spring contact arms arranged into pairs on opposite sides of the base,circuit wires connecting separated arms, electrical connections betweenadjacent arms on alternate opposite sides, a bearing on said base, ashaft in the bearing, a disk fixed to the shaft and rotating between apair of opposed arms, disks arranged so as to have a rela-.

tive rotation on said shaft, the disks having projections on theiropposed faces to engage each other so as to cause the disks to rotate inunison, contact projections on said disks, the contact arms havingrecesses to receive said contact projections to yieldingly hold thedisks in position, and an electrical connection on each disk forconnecting separated projections.

4. An electric switch comprising disks having separated points that areelectrically connected, said points projecting radially from the disks,and recessed spring contact arms resting on the periphery of the disksto engage the points to both form electrical connection and to hold thedisks in posi tion.

5. In an electric switch, a disk having a series of rounded projectionson its periphery, an electrical connection between two of theprojections, and an electrically conductive spring arm bearing on saiddisk and having a recess to yieldingly engage the projections to holdthe disk in position.

6. In an electric switch, disks having screw-threaded openings in theirperipheries, screw-threaded contact points adapted to be placed intoselected openings in the disks and being adapted to be shifted fromselected openings to other selected openings, means for electricallyconnecting said contact points, transverse projections on said disksadapted to engage each other when the disks are in predeterminedrelative positions, and spring contact arms on both sides of the disks,the contact arms having recesses to receive the contact points on thedisks and to thusyieldingly hold the disks in position, the contact armsbeing of electrically conductive material so as to complete the circuitwhen in engagement with the contact projections that are electricallyconnected.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand, this28th day of July, 1915.

GEORGE W. LAWRENCE.

